In the bitter primary for the GOP nomination in the 4th legislative district, the slate led by former Washington Township Councilman Chris Del Borrello has a major financial leg up over Gloucester County Commissioner Nick DeSilvio (R-Franklin).
As of campaign finance reports released this morning, Del Borrello and his running mates, Matt Walker and Amanda Esposito, collectively have $117,654 on-hand. That’s especially impressive considering that Del Borrello’s campaign didn’t start until late March, more than halfway through this reporting period.
DeSilvio, Michael Clark, and Denise Gonzalez, meanwhile, have $61,387 on-hand. Much of that came from Gonzalez’s own pockets; the U.S. Marine Corps veteran and union journeyman loaned her campaign a hefty $50,000.
The primary between DeSilvio and Del Borrello was initially borne out of a dispute among the county GOP organizations in South Jersey. The Gloucester GOP backed DeSilvio early in the competitive district, but practically every other county party in the region, led by the Atlantic GOP, rebelled and recruited Del Borrello to run against him.
And those parties are very much putting their money where their mouth is. The Atlantic GOP gave the maximum $24,600 to the Del Borrello slate spread across its three candidates, while the Cape May GOP and Monmouth GOP chair Shaun Golden contributed as well.
Also throwing their financial weight behind Del Borrello are the Operating Engineers Local 825 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351, two politically influential unions that both gave $24,600 to Del Borrello and his slate – even though both DeSilvio and Gonzalez are members of IBEW Local 351.
The winners of the primary will face a Democratic slate led by Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Washington); Moriarty and his ticket have almost $200,000 saved up for what’s likely to be a highly competitive general election.
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May 15, 2020